


like no one's watching you

by asarix_sarai



Category: Free!
Genre: College AU, M/M, MakoHaru if you squint a little harder, Self-indulgent as always, SouRin if you squint, You're Welcome, baby's first makeout fic, oh and like half a second of angst, past RinRei, reigisa - Freeform, sorry fam
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-25
Updated: 2016-06-25
Packaged: 2018-07-18 02:25:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7295794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asarix_sarai/pseuds/asarix_sarai
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"And you know what I think would help you feel better?" the strange boy asked, suggestively.</p><p>Rei peered over his cup as he took another long, bitter drink, and raised an eyebrow in recognition of the question.</p><p>"I think you should do something to make this guy jealous."<br/>----<br/>Or, something akin to that "quick my ex just walked in, please make out with me" AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	like no one's watching you

**Author's Note:**

> Do you ever wake up one morning and feel deep in your soul that you just really need to write a pairing you haven't thought about in a while in one of those dumb party AUs......?
> 
> .....No reason.  
> Enjoy.

Rei didn't know what he had been thinking, allowing his classmate to drag him to a party like this, in a strange apartment amongst strange people. He hated it. He hated the loud music, the heavy smoke, the darkened lights, the gross chatter. It was the opposite of his idea of a good night. 

He didn't know what he was doing there. 

He sighed at his severe lapse in judgment and peered warily down into the plastic cup resting between his hands, laced together at the fingertips. His brain half-heartedly asked itself just what was the point in dehydrating itself with a substance that rendered the drinker unable to fully control their own balance or mental function, but he derailed that thought train with a bitter gulp of his mysterious mixed drink. He grimaced at the sharp bite of the (vodka? Rum? Sake? Just what had Makoto put in it?) and sulked, sinking into the unpleasant melancholy he had been fighting off for the previous few days.

It had only been a couple of weeks since the breakup. What he and Rin, his ex, had had was good, he thought. They had understood each other, had gotten along. Rei had never felt a particular need to discuss feelings (perhaps because he simply had not _felt_ feelings in the same way Rin did) and yet he was content in the flow of their relationship. 

Rin, however, was a man who thrived on emotion and large gestures, and outside of his own physically affectionate nature, Rei simply did not express his feelings in a way that Rin felt he could truly understand. The abundant physicality with lack of words of affirmation planted doubt in Rin's mind, and by the time Rei realized this and began to try to express himself differently in a way that Rin could relate to, it had already been too late. Rin had been too unsure of his feelings. He had sat in doubt for too long, and would remain unconvinced that Rei had any true feelings toward him outside of the (arguably great) sex. 

The breakup had been emotional, but it was at least amicable.

Rei hadn't realized just how much he missed the raw passion Rin had poured into their physical encounters. The thrill of being loved, the particular attention Rin had paid to the affections that comforted Rei, the way Rin always seemed to know exactly what it was that Rei wanted. He was still unsure of the actual feelings he harbored, but he could say with certainty that he missed his relationship with Rin.

Which is exactly what had led him to revisit Rin's social networking profiles to check up on the man.

Which is exactly how he discovered that Rin had recently, and very closely, reconnected with an old childhood friend.

A very attractive old childhood friend.

Who was, _apparently_ , also gay.

Rei grimaced through another unpleasant gulp of his drink.

He cursed again at the friend who had dragged him here, impolitely blaming his senpai for his bad mood.

Makoto, a year his senior but in the same intro biology section, and friend since the beginning of that semester, had taken pity on Rei's sulking and encouraged him out for a night of fun and forgetfulness. Rei hadn't been out (without having been dragged by Rin) in ages, and had wanted nothing more than a quiet night in with his textbooks. But how could Rei have said no to his friend's warm and encouraging (it had been almost conniving) smile?

So, here he was, thumb and middle finger of his right hand now at his temples, pushing his glasses down the bridge of his nose, glaring at a loose string hanging off a threadbare rug in a very poorly lit room (everyone was going to strain their eyes if they didn't at least turn on a lamp) regretting his inability to stand his ground. An hour ago, Makoto had handed him a drink and disappeared. Rei had later caught a glimpse of his friend’s brunette head angled down, followed it down a shoulder to an arm that was bent with a hand pressing against the wall, trapping a sleek head of raven which was cocked upward at his elbow. He had whined and left the two to their night. 

He turned his glare to the sickeningly sweet (just how much sugar was in this) liquid in the cup in his left hand. He wanted to leave - to get up, walk out the door, forego the late bus and jog straight to his apartment across campus and lose himself in his study materials for the next week. It would ease his anger, ebb away at the emotional distress of having lost his first boyfriend, make him forget everything outside of the comfort of facts and theories.

He went to take a drink of the gross liquid instead, when suddenly the couch sank and he lost his balance, rolling to his left, nearly spilling the drink and earning a brief face full of golden hair. It smelled like.... Strawberries? 

He gave a surprised squawk and righted himself, careful to keep the alcoholic sugar concoction from staining his favorite blue button down. 

"Sorry, you alright?" the offender asked, and when Rei turned to glare at the boy, he found himself at a pause - even in concern, this boy's expression practically radiated energy, his giggling smile bright and wide magenta eyes sparkling. 

Rei sputtered. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." He found himself blushing from embarrassment, and something else he couldn't place (or, rather, didn’t want to acknowledge in his grumpy, buzzed state).

"It's just, you seemed so bummed out," the boy began, practically ignoring Rei's response. "I could feel you sulking from across the room. What's bothering you?" the boy asked, punctuating his words with a bump of the shoulder. 

Instead of answering, Rei forced his eyes down (had he been staring at the boy? how had he not noticed?) and cleared his throat, preparing any number of excuses, when he was interrupted again.

"-because, I mean, aren't you supposed to have _fun_ at parties? Parties are where you forget what's bothering you." Rei huffed at the boy's nonchalance, his eyebrow twitching. "I'm having a lot of fun, myself, why aren't you?"

Something in Rei ticked, and he watched helplessly as a mental wall crumbled against his better judgment. Before his brain could catch up, he found himself rambling his worries off to this complete stranger. 

"I just, I-I don't know where my friend is, and I don't want to be here, and I really recently broke up with my boyfriend, and now he's with some _guy_ with giant muscles and a perfect dumb face and-"

"Well, I'll hang out with you instead, if your friend is gone," the boy interrupted, which Rei figured was for the best, as he wasn't sure his voice wouldn't have cracked with his next syllable. He inwardly thanked the boy for the interruption.

That is, until he noticed the smirk overtaking the boy's expression. 

"And you know what I think would help you feel better?" he asked, suggestively.

Rei peered over his cup as he took another long, bitter drink, and raised an eyebrow in recognition of the boy's question.

"I think you should do something to make this guy jealous."

Rei sputtered and choked on his drink. The boy patted his back with a small, firm hand. 

As Rei recovered, he glanced up toward the door as it opened and a chorus of people shouted in greeting, and he felt the color drain from his face.

The blonde stranger made a noise of confusion at the change in Rei's expression and Rei cursed quietly in response as he ducked his head, running his hands through his hair, effectively ruining the carefully crafted style. 

"What, what is it??" the boy asked, worry coloring his voice.

"It's him," Rei choked. "M-My ex just walked in the door.... with his new guy," he added, his gut twisting with burning jealousy and weak nausea.

The boy squinted, surveying the scene. "What, the redhead? And the really tall buff guy?"

Rei jumped to shush him - didn't this boy understand that a voice at his pitch and decibel could cut through crowds? - and hissed a yes.

"Damn... They're _both_ hot," the boy mused loudly as he pulled Rei's hand from his mouth.

That did it. Rin turned and met Rei's eye and Rei quickly looked away from Rin and toward the boy, horrified, hiding his face in the crook of his own shoulder.

The boy's gaze flicked curiously between Rei and the door, and when his eyes widened almost comically (though Rei wasn't presently sure if he'd ever laugh again), Rei felt the remaining color drain from his face. 

"W-What is it?"

"Shit, he's com-...." The boy mumbled, trailing off as he looked down and toward the back of the couch. 

Rei watched as his contemplative gaze shifted to something hard and determined. The boy shot his gaze back up to Rei's and grabbed his arm with a surprisingly warm and firm, yet gentle grip. 

"Put your drink down."

Rei gave a breathy scoff and asked, "What are you ta-"

"I want to help you, but I've got to be quick," the boy interrupted. "Just don't be mad at me, okay?"

Rei raised another eyebrow and attempted to stutter a protest. 

"Okay?" the boy insisted.

Rei's eyebrows knit across his forehead as he nodded dutifully, and the boy gently squeezed Rei's bicep before nodding in return, sending a glance over Rei's shoulder, his face set and lips pursed in determination. Then, with barely enough time to set his cup gently on the grimy floor, Rei's vision was covered in that golden hair again and a pair of soft, dry lips pressed chastely, lightly against his own. 

A thousand thoughts and protests flooded his mind, but he could do little more than inhale sharply in response before he found himself lost blissfully in the warmth of this stranger's mouth and the gentle press of a hand on his tensed bicep. Rei found his eyelids fluttering closed and, against his better judgement (he had lost count of the number of time he had ignored that better judgment tonight), he pressed forward to return the boy's kiss sweetly, relaxing his shoulders. 

Rei lifted his now unoccupied hand (thank god this strange boy had had the foresight to ask him to set the drink down), and cupped the blonde's chin, reveling in the softness of his firm jawline. As he experimentally moved his lips, the boy sighed dreamily and pressed forward, angling his head and deepening the kiss. Any protest Rei could have formed before was silenced by this beautiful boy's sweet sigh, and Rei felt the dark clouds of the past few weeks clearing to a single, bright ray of sunshine. 

He lifted his free hand to the boy's waist, pulling him onto his lap, drowning in the sensation of the kiss as the boy flicked a tongue across his bottom lip. Rei hummed at the contact and parted his lips hesitantly, allowing for the boy to begin exploring Rei's mouth with an insistent tongue, gliding over teeth and cheek and Rei's own feverish tongue. He met the boy's advances, sliding the hand from the boy's chin to tangle in soft golden curls, pulling his head closer as the boy's arms looped tightly around his neck, effectively bringing the pair flush together at the chest. 

At the new contact, the boy breathed sharply through his nose, and Rei moaned at the weight of this blessed boy pressing so heavily against him. Rei fisted his hand in golden curls and gently pulled the boy from his lips to breathe a gasp of air, but when the boy whined softly at the sensation of his hair being pulled, Rei felt extra warmth pool in his stomach and dove right back in for more, biting down on the boy's bottom lip and tugging. 

The boy crashed back into him, their teeth clicking together, and kissed him passionately and senselessly. Rei's right hand gripped at the back of the boy's neck, guiding him along with smooth strokes along the satin skin there, while his other hand curled around the boy's back, toying with the hem of his shirt. 

The boy shifted in his lap, pushing at Rei's shoulders until their lips parted, ducking smoothly to begin pressing hot, open mouthed kisses to the hollow of Rei's neck. Shifting again to better his angle, Rei felt the boy's hips grind deliciously on his own, once. Rei's responding groan was stifled when he opened his eyes to find Rin standing a few yards in front of him, eyebrows raised in something like amusement and mouth set in a hard, confused line. 

The boy obliviously continued his exploration of Rei's neck as Rei suddenly felt each of those thousands of protests from earlier, no longer drowned in the distraction of the kiss, crashing down on him one by aching one. 

The boy must have felt him tense, as he pulled back and peered at Rei curiously - Rei met his eyes and was nearly lost in him again, those beautiful eyes shining, lips bruised from Rei's own teeth, hair sticking up on the side at the work of Rei's hand. Rei's hand that was still cradling this stranger's neck. He retrieved the appendage like the boy's skin had burned him, tearing his stare away and back toward Rin.

The boy noted Rei's terrified gaze over his shoulder and turned his head to find the subject of his anxiety. 

"Oh, hi," the boy said cheerily. To Rei, he sounded very far away. "Can we help you?"

Rin stared for another moment and laughed (though it sounded something like a scoff). Rei blanched. 

"Rei, aren't you going to introduce me to your, ah.... friend?" Rin prodded, a nervous smirk in his voice.

The blood rushed back to Rei's face as it dawned on him just what had occurred. He had just passionately made out with the complete stranger still straddling his lap (and protectively draping an arm across one of Rei's shoulders) with no regard for... well, no regard for _anything_. For once, he had not thought. He had ignored all consequence and allowed this strange man to kiss him senseless in a strange room on a strange couch, and though he could not bear to imagine the consequences that he was sure were soon to follow, he could not find it in himself to regret their actions.

That didn't make it any easier to face the moment, however.

Rei's attempts to formulate an explanation died on his tongue as he heard the boy in this lap start talking.

"Aaaaah, you must be Rin-san! I'm Nagisa," the boy answered, turning to grin fondly at Rei. 

Rei flicked his eyes nervously between the boy (Nagisa, he supposed) and Rin, mind reeling, trying to find the logic, a basis for analysis, something to help him comprehend this moment. But all he could think about was how the name "Nagisa" might sound on his tongue. 

Rin blinked at the pair, and Rei felt a drop of sweat roll down the back of his neck. 

"It's nice to meet you," Rin said slowly, and if Rei didn't know any better, he could have sworn he noticed Rin's hand tighten around the hand of the man standing to his right. Rei examined the man, the famous Hot Childhood Friend, noting muscles rippling below his shirt as he towered a good few centimeters over those standing near him, and felt a twinge of jealousy. His hand tightened on Nagisa's back, almost of its own accord.

Nagisa's smile faltered and he took Rei's face in both of his hands. Rei flicked his eyes back toward Nagisa, desperate for something like comfort in the moment.

"C'moooon, Rei-chan, let's go somewhere else," he pouted, and Rei couldn't believe how adorably the expression fit his face. "You were going to get me another drink, right?"

Rei nodded absently, exhausted from the mental effort of the evening. 

"Besides, Rin-chan seems busy enough with that buff guy, anyway~" he sing-songed, cutting off Rei's protest by pressing a sweet kiss to his lips before pushing off on his shoulders and standing, one hand extended to help Rei off the couch.

He heard Rin scoff indignantly and call a "Have fun!" as Nagisa dragged him by the hand (with fingers intertwined) toward the kitchen. Rei followed obediently, tired and in shock.

To his surprise, instead of stopping at the drinks on the counter, Nagisa pulled him straight through the kitchen and onto the balcony, mostly out of sight, just outside the kitchen's sliding glass door. He had barely closed the door before he turned to Rei with a pleading expression and misty eyes.

"Holy shit, I'm so sorry about all of that. I hope it wasn't too much, I just saw how sad you were and I wanted to help and then we got too carried away and I hope I didn't weird you out or make that guy hate you but I-"

"Nagisa-kun."

Rei lifted a hand and rested it calmly on the boy's shoulder, halting his ranted apology. Pushing away his own surprise at the honorific he had addressed the boy with, Rei took a breath, trying not to distract himself with just how lovely Nagisa's name had sounded rolling off his tongue.

He cleared his throat.

"Nagisa. It's, ah, it's alright," he began, shakily. "Truthfully, I could have used a bit more of a warning, and I really do not understand why you thought that kissing a complete stranger was a good idea, even if it was intended to help me. What if I had been sick with mono?" he said, trying his best to keep a reprimanding tone from his voice.

"You're probably right...." Nagisa giggled nervously, looking away as a hand flew up to rub at his neck, though Rei couldn’t detect an ounce of remorse in Nagisa’s voice.

"However, I do honestly appreciate that your intentions were in the right place. And I can’t deny that I... quite enjoyed myself," he added, looking away and pushing up his glasses as a crimson blush returned to his cheeks.

When he flicked his eyes back toward Nagisa, he found him staring openly and thoughtfully, and couldn't help thinking that this boy was the embodiment of sunshine, bright and harsh and unabashed. 

When Nagisa's face broke into a grin, Rei felt something inside him stir, warm and lovely.

"Hazuki. Hazuki Nagisa," he said finally, offering his hand for Rei to shake. "That's my full name."

Rei stared before taking it in his own. He felt the softness of his palm, the callouses of his fingers. He remembered what they felt like on his own cheeks, the sides of his neck.

He swallowed thickly.

"Ryugazaki Rei."

"It's very nice to meet you, Rei-chan."

"Likewise, N-Nagisa-kun."

He stood there, dumbly holding Nagisa's hand, staring into those gorgeous crimson eyes, remembering the feel of Nagisa's lips on his lips, on his neck. He felt heat pool in his stomach again, individually thanking each of his ancestors that they were alone on this balcony.

"Soooo~," Nagisa began, dragging the word heavily, accenting the mood with a thumb rubbed across Rei's knuckles. "What's the likelihood that you'll let me kiss you again? I'm not sure I was quite done back there. Is that okay with you?"

Rei cleared his throat again, pushing up his glasses as his blush extended down his neck. He sucked in a slow breath to steady his tired brain and anxious limbs, before pulling his hand out of Nagisa's and cupping his face again. Emboldened by the change in atmosphere, the tingling in his veins, by Nagisa himself, Rei slowly backed the boy up against the glass of the door, no longer caring who noticed.

"I suppose that would be alright," Rei whispered, his voice a low, almost unrecognizable grumble.

Nagisa's eyes flashed as Rei curled his fingers through Nagisa's hair and he lifted a hand to tug at the boy's waist, pulling their hips flush against one another. Nagisa responded by arching his back and resting a hand on Rei's waistband, hooking a finger in the nearest belt loop of Rei's trousers while the other travelled more bravely under Rei's shirt to rest on the smooth skin over his ribcage.

Nagisa whined helplessly as Rei's head descended and their lips met roughly, and Rei hummed low and sweet into the kiss. 

The pair didn't say much for the following hour, until their jaws were sore and necks peppered with red patches, lips puffy and slick and the slightest bit purple. Hand in hand, they found their way back inside to pour drinks and begin the verbal process of getting to know one another. 

When Makoto found Rei later into the night, drunkenly talking and giggling with an equally inebriated Nagisa laying across his lap, Rei found his classmate looking no worse for the wear, neck equally dotted with bruises. He didn't feel bitter anymore about Makoto abandoning him at a strange party to hang out with some guy. At this point, he wasn't sure he had the right. 

So when Rei and Makoto finally stumbled toward the door to leave the party, Rei merely glanced unaffected when he saw Rin dancing racily on his hot new boyfriend. The weight of their breakup seeming lighter than ever, replaced with the comforting warmth of a new number in his phone's contacts, the pleasant conversation that he was surprised flowed so easily into the night, and the promising spark of something new.

And as they left, Rei couldn't find it in himself to sulk any longer - at least not while he stood in such a bright patch of sunlight.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm a little bit sorry but I'm mostly not. God I love writing these dorks, and I've never had the pleasure of writing kisses, so hooOOO boy I had a good time with this one.
> 
> Leave a review, if you're into that!  
> (ﾉ^ヮ^)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧


End file.
